FAINT ECHOES, DISTANT STARS

Reviewed 12/07/2004

Faint Echoes, Distant Stars, by Ben Bova

FAINT ECHOES, DISTANT STARS
The Science and Politics of Finding Life Beyond Earth
Dr. Ben Bova
New York: William Morrow, 2004

Rating:

4.5

High

ISBN-13 978-0-380-97519-8
ISBN 0-380-97519-X 335pp. HC/GSI $25.95

Table of Contents

  Acknowledgements xv
  Prologue: Author to Reader 1
SECTION I The Path to Astrobiology
1: Are We Alone? 7
2: Time and the Tide of Opinion 19
3: The Three Requirements of Life 27
4: The Extreme Road to Astrobiology 33
5: The Great Mindshift: Exobiology Becomes Astrobiology 41
SECTION II The Path to Life on Earth
6: The Birth of Our Solar System 59
7: The Birth of Our World 68
8: Nature's Enforcers 78
9: The Birth of Life 87
10: Opportunistic, Tenacious Life 98
11: Life's Impact on Planet Earth 112
SECTION III Life in the Solar System
12: A Model Planet Called Mars 127
13: Exploring Mars 135
14: Hotworlds and False Assumptions 155
15: The Realm of the Giants 167
16: The Realm of Ice 190
SECTION IV Life Beyond the Solar System
17: Extrasolar Planets: Good News and Bad News 207
18: The Heartbreak of SETI 229
19: UFOs, Abductions, and Ancient Astronauts 255
SECTION V Tomorrow
  Epilogue: An Agenda for the Future 271
  Postscript: The Apocalypse to Come 285
APPENDICES
  Appendix 1: Units and Conversions 289
  Appendix 2: Refractors and Reflectors 291
  Appendix 3: Cosmic Abundances of the Elements 293
  Appendix 4: Acid and Alkaline: The pH Story 294
  Appendix 5: Major Planets of the Solar System 295
  Appendix 6: Radioactive Dating: Nature's Alchemy 297
  Appendix 7: DNA and RNA 299
  Appendix 8: Contamination: Sterilization and the Isolation Ward 302
  Appendix 9: Death's Calling Card 304
  Appendix 10: The Nitrogen Fix... and Israel 306
  Appendix 11: Charles Darwin 308
 
  Glossary 311
  References 315
  Index 321
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